The South Hema of Democratic Republic of the Congo

The South Hema of Democratic Republic of the Congo, numbering approximately 255,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic community of Democratic Republic of the Congo and can also be known as Congolese Nyoro. They are an Indigenous people, in the Bantu, Central-Lakes people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Christianity - Roman Catholicism. They primarily speak Hema.

Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Anonymous

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-saharan Africa Peoples
Country: Democratic Republic of the Congo
People Cluster: Bantu, Central-Lakes
Primary Language(s): Hema (nix)
Primary Religion(s): Christianity - Roman Catholicism
Population: 255,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG014731

Pray for the South Hema of Democratic Republic of the Congo

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Christianity - Roman Catholicism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

%
Christianity - Roman Cath… Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Hema
Language Family: Niger-Congo

%
Hema Speakers

Media Resources in Hema:

Films:

Bible Resources in Hema:

Next steps for the South Hema

The South Hema are Unengaged and Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

Next steps for the South Hema

The South Hema are Engaged yet Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations but there are sustained efforts at establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Continue prayer and fasting for this group
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Begin training up local leaders to lead and develop strategies to reach their own people

Next steps for the South Hema

The South Hema are No Longer Unreached, which means there are more than 2% evangelical Christian populations and there are churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. There is still more to be done among them.

Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the South Hema of Democratic Republic of the Congo

Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.
read1 John 3:8

Pray for those living in darkness to recognize the destructive power of sin and the victory Christ has won over it.

So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.
readRomans 9:16

Pray that the merciful God who is at work in people's hearts will advance His gospel among them.

For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him.
readRomans 10:12

Pray that as people from different backgrounds place their faith in Christ, they will be unified by their faith Him.

Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
readJohn 12:24

Pray that God will raise up men and women who are willing to die to their own desires, bearing much fruit for the kingdom among individuals and in places where His gospel has not been proclaimed.

Hema reported in the following countries (ROP3):

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

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